My son, now it is up to you. I have failed in my life's task. The filthy Crusaders have ruined me without cause. This is Alla's will my son. He knows that you shall be twice the warrior I could ever be. You must be a great martyr for Allah my son. Go and see uncle Akmed. He will give you a belt to wear and show you what must be done. You shall abenge me. It is Allah's will.

"In the middle of a shooting war in which our enemies could blend with our allies, we still allowed detainees the dignity of remaining with their families."

Well said. In addition, this Iraqi will learn (or already has come to realize) that his son will have a life with a much greater chance of enjoying freedom, education, free practice of religion, and peace without fear of ruthless state police than (a) the father had for himself during the past 25 years or (b) what the son would have enjoyed if we had not liberated Iraq.

First thing I notice about the picture is that the captured individual isn't wearing a uniform nor even some form of insignia denoting that he is part of an organized militia.

That's signigficant since lawful combatants wear uniforms or other obvious insignia denoting what they are so as to avoid being confused for civilians- they do this to prevent giving the enemy a reason - or excuse as the case may be - to kill civilians.

Since he has no uniform and he's obviously not wearing clothing we provided, then he is not a lawful combatant.

He is thus a possible member of the fedeyeen saddam, an individual employed deliberately by the regime to mix in with civilians and use the appearance of a civilian as protection to pass through American or British lines or to be able to get close to coalition troops without being detected.

Those are the methods of terrorists, not soldiers, though some soldiers may have in fear opted to discard their uniforms and try to go home. This one may have done just that, and so was caught with his kid and identified as a suspected Iraqi soldier.

If that was the case, it may be his military haircut gave him away; can't tell owing to the hood, which as oithers have said, is SOP when photographers are around in order to prevent POWs from being humiliated as required by Geneva.

It is also possible he was just a regular Iraqi who was carrying arms openly, in which case he is considered lawful. Or he happened to be in the wrong place and in the company of others who were infiltrated by fedeyeen types, in which case he must be assumed at least for a while to be one of them.

Since we weren't rounding up just anyone, however, something must have given him away as a combatant or potential combatant.

Someone posted a story the other day about that 15 year-old Afghan kid who was just released from Guantanamo Bay after being held there as an "enemy combatant" for the last year and a half. He was hardly recognizable to his family back in Afghanistan, since he's about six inches taller than when he arrived at Gitmo, has a physique that looks like an NFL linebacker compared to a typical Afghan, and now speaks pretty good English.

I was going to give our Valentine the benefit of the doubt, and the chance to respond before I gave him a Templar's response on this Bloody Friday. But, I too noticed the smell of fresh meat. And it was I, who overtly made that direct implication. Because while, Pip, may naivily fondle his fantasies about a benevolent world combating malicious America, I refuse to share his ignorance at the expense of my innocent son, my wife, or another 3000 innocent people. I for one do not refuse to recognize that we are at war... and that it is not a war that started on 911. This is a war of We the living versus the worshippers of the death and haters of man. Iraq, for its small part, declared it's own war on us the minute that Exocet missile sliced through the hull of US frigate back in the 80's. He simply gave the excuse that we needed to establish a beachhead in the midst of our enemies heartland. Saddam and his thugs were every bit as culpable with regard to the era of Islamic terror that culminated on 911, as are the Leftist apologists and fringe activists will be for the next attack. So bury your face in the mud of Leftwing rhetoric, hyperbole, and dishonesty, but do not, sir Pip, expect me to do the same.

I'm surprised they didn't pick the doctored photo of the Afghan/Iraqi sitting on the ground and the soldier's weapon pointing at him. Do you remember that one and how it was later proven to have been altered?

Occupying Iraq will infest the Middle East with democracy. They probably were expecting something different, a military force resembling their jihadists who run amok in villages and towns raping and murdering people.

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